Editor’s note: This column is part of a continuing series about the medical adventures of editor Mike Roark.

As some of you read this column this morning, I will be in the heart-cath lab at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center having a stent placed in an artery on the left side of my heart.

You may remember, this is my second trip to the cath lab for such a procedure. A couple weeks ago, Dr. Sastry Prayaga place a stent in an artery on the right side of my heart, and I had a minor heart attack. That halted the effort to place a second stent in one of my two clogged big arteries and sent me to the MSICU for the night.

Dr. Prayaga told me I also have seven minor arteries that are clogged that he likely can’t place stents in to because of their small size. This is an indication of the heart disease I have.

Once I get this second stent put in my clogged artery, I will then change my diet to a more heart-friendly group of foods, and I will get off my couch and exercise so that can help my heart be more healthy.

Dr. Prayaga told me Tuesday that many, many people stop exercising and living an active lifestyle as they grow older. I have done that and that’s why I didn’t know I was developing these heart issues, he explained.

The heart is one of the organs that works all the time, or “24/7” as the doc said. But for it to work right, it has to be healthy.

I, like many people, have chosen to ignore such information. Sure, I’ve heard all about being heart healthy, but a steak, or some fried food, or a lot of other unhealthy choices, has been my choice when I’ve sat down at the dinner table for many, many years.

And after working a 10-hour shift at a newspaper, for those same many years, my chief interest when I get home each night has been to kick back and relax on my couch. My main bit of exercise has been changing the cable television channel to ESPN for some sporting program.

While I’ve not been a teenager for more than three decades, I’ve had a sense I’m fairly bullet proof. And maybe another part of my thinking is that I have not taken the time or made the effort to care about my health.

Dr. Prayaga told me that many times, he sees a person for the first time at the worst time — in the emergency room or in an operating room after some terrible heart attack.

My young bride, Rosemary, has been with me on every step of this medical process in recent weeks. She has seen and heard it all, and she is worried about me.

She and I celebrated 18 years of marriage Sunday, and that woman is my reality check because I’d like the opportunity to spend at least another 18 years with her. For those who don’t know, she is the love of my life. She is my motivation and my drive to deal with this entire heart issue.

The doc says eat more fruit and vegetables, so I’ll get with a dietitian and figure out how to do that. Left on my own, I’d likely buy a bag of apples and another few cans of green beans.

The doc says I need to get this much exercise each day and week, so I’m going to get active, walk and do what I’m told. I have some plans to help me reach those goals.

And, I’m going to continue to share all of the details of this trip with you to make myself as accountable as possible.

When Jerry Garcia sang of about the long, strange trip he was on, I’m pretty sure this isn’t what he was talking about.

However, this is the trip I’m on now, and I’m going to make the best of it.